Proposition 11 changes the process that is undertaken once every ten years of setting (which sometimes means re-drawing) the geographic boundaries of the state's 120 legislative districts and four Board of Equalization districts. Previously, the task of setting these boundaries fell to the California State Legislature itself. Because Proposition 11 passed, that task will instead be given to a new, 14-member commission.[2]

Supporters of the Proposition 11 raised $14 million to promote its passage, versus the $1 million raised by opponents.

Text of measure

Title

Summary

Changes authority for establishing Assembly, Senate, and Board of Equalization district boundaries from elected representatives to 14 member commission.

Requires government auditors to select 60 registered voters from applicant pool. Permits legislative leaders to reduce pool, then the auditors pick eight commission members by lottery, and those commissioners pick six additional members for 14 total.

Requires commission of five Democrats, five Republicans and four of neither party. Commission shall hire lawyers and consultants as needed.

For approval, district boundaries need votes from three Democratic commissioners, three Republican commissioners and three commissioners from neither party.

Arguments in favor

Under current law the legislature draws its own districts which results in a 99 percent of incumbents being re-elected.[9]

Under the current system, "Not one of the 120 seats changed party hands in the last two elections."[10]

The initiative will open up redistricting so that it will no longer be controlled by only the party in power.[11]

When state legislators are in charge of drawing district boundaries, as they are currently, there is a conflict of interest such that legislators place their own self-interest ahead of the common good.

A citizen's commission created according to Proposition 11 will be able to make independent decisions leading to legislative boundaries based on fairness and the public good and not political aspirations..

State legislative contests held in districts drawn by a Proposition 11 commission would be more competitive, leading to voters electing more moderate legislators.[15]

It will give the power back to the people.

Proposition 11 would reform the redistricting process by establishing a commission (as opposed to a legislatively-driven) procedure. This measure could moderately affect government accountability by making the ballot process somewhat more representative.[16]

Donors

$16,279,892 was contributed to the campaign in favor of a "yes" vote on Proposition 11.[17]

The law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler gave $250,000 to the "Yes on 11" campaign. Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler was founded by Scott Rothstein. In 2009, Rothstein, who lives in Florida, was accused by federal investigators of "running a massive Ponzi-style fraud in Florida".[19] Rothstein is said to have been selling shares in a business that supposedly provided lump sum payments to recipients of annuities and other long-term payments, but that the deals he was touting didn't exist. Rather, prosecutors say, he was using money from investors to provide payments to other investors, an arrangement known as a "Ponzi Scheme."[20]

In April 2010, Florida bankruptcy attorneys seeking to restore money to Rothstein's many creditors sent a letter to the campaign committee for Proposition 11 asking it to return a $250,000 donation from Rothstein. The campaign committee for Proposition 11 is defunct which makes it unclear how any funds would be returned.[21]

Arguments against

No accountability to taxpayers. Each commission member is guaranteed $300 a day, plus unlimited expenses in the form of staffing, offices, etc.

The commission created under Proposition 11 would allow politicians to hide behind the selected bureaucrats to maintain a hold on redistricting as they wish.

The overly complicated process created by Proposition 11 would make it easier to mask hidden agendas of the people behind those on the committee.[24]

Proposition 11 offers no assurance of the same representation for communities, such as California's Hispanic community in the redistricting process.[25]

The current version of Proposition 11 does not include congressional districts as an earlier draft did, thereby not being complete reform and creating additional detractors to the measure. [26]

Even when commissions do create competitive districts, the people who get elected in them do not necessarily behave as political moderates."[27]

Democrat against Democrat

Kathay Feng, the main author of the initiative and director of California Common Cause, said in late June that since the measure qualified for the ballot and the California Democratic Party has announced its opposition, there has been attempt to bring everybody into line and to encourage those in support of the measure to oppose it.[28]

Donors

$1,525,816 was contributed to the campaign in favor of a "no" vote on Proposition 11.[29]